Question For '83-'88 X Owners

Joe F

Joe F

Hi Miles, Lo Maintenance
Just an informal poll:

When you are asked either "What is it?" or "Is that a Triumph?", how do you respond?

Do you say it's a Bertone or Fiat?

I always say Fiat and if the conversation continues, I explain why the badges say Bertone.

BTW, how many of you re-badged the hood and deck with Fiat badges?

Just curious.

Thanks
 
Joe, It depends on the person, but I usually answer Bertone X19. Almost everyone thinks its a Ferrari, I have the upside down jackass emblem. There have been some that ask if it is a Honda and on rare occasions, a few get it right.
 
It's Italian...

I usually say "It's Italian." and see what the response is. To the unfamiliar, that may be enough. If they say, "Oh, Fiat?" then I might clarify.
 
Another "it depends on the situation", but Bertone X19 most of the time.

Once I had an entire family standing around the car smiling and talking about it while I was in a convenience store. Whe I came out I found out why. They were tourists visiting from Torino/Turin Italy. They saw the "Torino" on the nose badge but had no idea who Bertone was.
 
BERTONE

From 83+ its BERTONE. I call it BERTONE because that is what it is during these years. My opinion is that Fiat decided to turn its back on the X and if it were not for BERTONE it would have died in 82. Yes BERTONE deserves its recognition and they made it possible to own all 83+ models that would not be here if it were not for BERTONE. Hell yes I call it a BERTONE because thats exactly what it is 83+. Now 82- they are all Fiats.
 
FIAT or Bertone

I also have the "Bucking Ass" emblems which almost always start the "is that a Ferrari" conversation.

My response is usually "no, look closely - its not a prancing horse, its a bucking ass"! That leads to a brief explanation of who is Bertone; Fiat's exit from the US market, the continued importation of the car, etc.

If I see them glazing over, I just default to "its a FIAT".

Ed
 
It depends

I usually say its a Fiat because most of the 7 Xs I have owned have been pre-83. It is just habit. I did put brand new Fiat badges on my 85 for FFO this year. I dont have any unbroken Bertone badges and I am not a fan of them anyway. The metal Fiat badges are way nicer than the plastic Bertone badges.

 
I Came This Close...

I came close to re-badging with Fiat wreath badges. I owned two Fiat X's prior to this one and I think the red wreath badges look much better, but a while back, Henk had some nice new Bertone badges made so I went with those.
 
Better than electrical tape

The 85 has been living with electrical tape covering all the holes where various badges, antennas, etc used to be. I figured the Fiat badges were better than tape for FFO even though the car is in primer at this stage of its life.

Note the tape over the nose badge holes. :)
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Henk Martens told me the rarest part or hardest part to find now a days is the original Bertone badge. So as time goes on, all the Bertone badged cars will be worth the most. Just kidding!
 
Great topic!

I tell folks that ask that it is a Bertone. If conversation ensues then the story of Fiat departing the market typcally is included.
The one thing that Bertone seems to avoid is the fix it again tony comments.

I was at a car show last weekend and it was interesting how many folks asked about the "Bertone", but none were phased by my buddies Pinninfarina that was parked next to me. They just called it a Fiat.
One of the most memorable questions on origin was a guy insisting (because he had owned one) that my car was a Porsche 914.
 
I have found that most people that have to ask what it is do not understand no matter what you tell them. The ones that do know a bit about what they are looking at usually say something like "My roommates brother had a car like that."
 
It's a bloody Triumph!

I had a lorry driver who used to do some work for us before he sadly died arguing with me for several minutes telling me "it's a TR7 I should bloody well know I owned one" it wasn't till i asked him where his engine was located then showed him that he finally believed me, then he started with the "well they must of copied the TR7 design"
I was laughing for days!!!
 
Andy said:
Great topic!

I tell folks that ask that it is a Bertone. If conversation ensues then the story of Fiat departing the market typcally is included.
The one thing that Bertone seems to avoid is the fix it again tony comments.

I was at a car show last weekend and it was interesting how many folks asked about the "Bertone", but none were phased by my buddies Pinninfarina that was parked next to me. They just called it a Fiat.
One of the most memorable questions on origin was a guy insisting (because he had owned one) that my car was a Porsche 914.
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speaking of ca shows, my buddy & I have already decided that we are entering our cars in the Lexington County Peach Festival Car Show next year. He has his 1973 Cadillac Eldorado convertible in one of my garage bays and mine should be show,ready by then. We went this year and the only Fiat,was a Spider sporting a nice primer. I looked around for Jim but couldn't find him.
 
I have had my 85 since it was new. For a long time I always lead with the Bertone story. Of late I have been calling it a Fiat basically telling the story in reverse. It is a Bertone with out doubt.
 
Just tonight was asked by a 20 something if my car was a Ferrari... He was very interested in the car... I drove way thinking there is hope for the younger generation...LOL
 
Bertone all the way!

Never would rebadge to a fiat because that's not what it is. I too like the idea of giving credit both for the brilliance of the design and commitment to the American market after the Fiat departure. I take the opportunity to educate people about the cars history and about the fiat--Bertone relationship. It's also a chance to explain the marriage of the manufacturers and design studios in Italy, which is different from the way that American makers represent their designs as "in house" creations.
 
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